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The Power of Introverts
Reclaiming the power of solitude. This TED Talk, by Susan Cain, explains so much. Tell me if this resonates. (Unless you prefer to be quiet, which is okay, too.)
Photo by Peter Cornelius
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This resonates with me, no question. For so long I thought something was wrong with me (especially having recently separated); this TED talk brought me great relief and renewed confidence. I hope that changes in workplaces (recognition programs, workplace configurations, etc) will also occur as a result of this research. I can’t wait to read the book!
Wonderful video! I am what a good friend of mine calls an extroverted introvert. I can get in front of a group and talk, but I also enjoy my solitude. My batteries need recharging after all that group work! Cain makes a good point about easing up on all the group work. Yes, I know how to be a good team member, but let me go off on my own and think for awhile. My friend and I also disagree with the idea of being highly visible to the higher ups at work in order to get noticed (and promoted). We want to be recognized for our work, not just our ability to get in front of people and be sales people. Thanks for sharing Cain’s insights. I passed the video on to my friend.
Great to hear you say that!
An amazing friend of mine passed it on to me. I’m so glad she did. It gives me such a new vantage point.
I remember seeing her TED Talk a few weeks ago, and it really hit a nerve with me. Around my friends and loved ones I can be pretty extroverted, but in general group settings and around people I don’t feel comfortable enough around, I’m more introverted. I prefer my own company to that of large group settings. I agree that the office culture is geared towards groups and extroverts, and I’d constantly be labeled “antisocial” because I didn’t want to participate in the office chit-chat. The world needs to know that introverts have value too.
I also can’t wait to read her book!
It’s expanding our sense of worth. So important!
While I do think that the world needs the ideas of the introverts as well as the extroverts, there is a part of me that wonders if this video is just giving me permission to keep my thoughts and ideas to myself, never sharing them, and never finding a way to show that the ideas I have are actually mine. I admit that I’m on the fence…I’m not in a position where I feel the power of being able to make a dynamic change, but I do feel like I’m in a position to witness someone else making a dynamic change. It’s a huge difference. Makes me ambivalent to the entire video….
Stacey, I appreciate hearing this point of view!
A long time ago I was reading one of Carolyn Hax’s online chats and someone made the comment that introverts are not broken extroverts and I have lived by that comment ever since. I really do think that most people, particularly extroverts, do believe that introverts are somehow broken because they don’t thrive off of the energy of being around others 24/7. Finally we seem to be getting actual validation and it’s nice.
I like to hear this video with the idea that extroverts need to be a little more introverted but that introverts also need to be a little extroverted. Extroverts need to look inside themselves and discover the creative power they possess and introverts need to be better able to share their talents with others. This is, of course, after being left to let those talents work their magic as they do alone. I would agree though that a lot of the education/work world is focusing on extroverted tendencies.
Personally – I think have the best of both worlds.Put me with people and I’ve been titled a ‘social butterfly’ But I credit my introvertedness with getting me out of that small town because I had a hermit-like tendency of staying home and surfing the web rather than going out like a ‘normal’ teenager. It led me to yearn for things beyond my current world. I still find refuge in being alone and reassessing myself. Then I go out and get a crowd high.